Raid on Rocherath Battery
The Raid on Rocherath Battery (or simply Rocherath) was the second and final skirmish of the Battle of the Bulge epic campaign. Near the town of Rocherath, Belgium, elements of the 21st Panzer Division, led by Hauptmann Jonas Merhoff, assaulted an Allied artillery battery. Defending the little battery and church were elements of the 3 ID 3rd Armour BDE, led by Lieutenant Nicholas Ealing and a squad from the 49th Infantry Division, led by Staff Sergeant David Bevan. Both sides took horrific casualties during the fighting; of the thirty men overall on the battlefield, only thirteen survived and none without wounds. =Objectives= The axis forces under Hauptmann Merhoff had three goals: :*Kill or capture the artillery spotter :*Capture or destroy the two 155mm howitzers :*Capture or destroy the ammunition dump To achieve these objectives, Merhoff led an attack from the southern woods while Unteroffizier Heiko Alkema led a team of experienced men up a cliff to attack the defenders from behind. =Battle= Only hours after his decisive victory at Lausdell Crossroads, Jonas Merhoff was once again at the head of a raiding force poised to deal another heavy blow to the Allies. This time the target was an artillery battery near the town of Rocherath. The Allies had set up near a cliff-side church which over looked positions that the advancing Axis forces would be assaulting later. Merhoff's goal was simple: remove the threat. Merhoff's plan of attack involved a three pronged assault; four men from the east would flank the eastern trenches; another four man team led by Heiko Alkema would climb the cliff and attack from the north; the main force of seven men including Merhoff himself would strike the guns from the south. Opposing Merhoff was a small force of defenders under the command of Lieutenant Nicholas Ealing. In preparation for an attack, the defenders had dug a series of trenches on either side of the church, and created a sandbag bunker near the cliff edge. Though the sandbags were meant to prevent an attack from the rear, the defense was ultimately circumvented through sheer chance. David Bevan and corporal Dafydd Harper had a view of the entire battlefield from the church tower. The western trenches were left unmanned. The skirmish began with two rifleman emerging from the woods and firing on the church tower. Seconds after, Merhoff's main force also burst forth from the woods making a charge for the empty trenches. Bevan managed to wound one of the rifleman and kill a sergeant. Merhoff and company crossed the road and took the trenches without resistance, slaughtering the undefended and unarmed artillery crews. Simultaneously, the eastern force made their attack; unfortunately they did not have the luck of Merhoff's team as they were quickly spotted and fired upon by Ealing's men, killing one and wounding another. Though caught off guard the experienced men returned fire as they fell back further into the woods killing two of the defenders. Shortly after the initial attack, Heiko Alkema's cliff-raiders came over the cliff finding themselves only a few metres behind the sandbag bunker. The three men manning the bunker were cut down by Alkema's machineguns before they had a chance to react. A few rounds from the church tower alerted Alkema that the element of surprise had been lost and regrouped with Merhoff at the church, securing the main hall of the church and taking up defensive positions. A grenade from the church tower severely wounded another of Merhoff's men, the German's returned fire killing the spotter and severely wounding both Bevan and Harper. Merhoff mounted second assualt this time on the eastern trenches occupied by Ealing's troops. At this moment, ever fickle Lady Luck switched sides and took up the Allied banner. Merhoff's assault faltered and died in the face of a few lucky shots from the defenders which killed one man and severely wounding two others without any further casualties on the Allied side. Emboldened by the Axis failure, Ealing rallied his men for an charge on the church which now housed most of the Axis force including Alkema. Laying down a skillfully placed smokescreen, Ealing's men approached the church with almost no resistance. Through the smoke Ealing managed an exceptionally lucky grenade through one of the shattered church windows finishing off a previously wounded soldier and wounding every other soldier present. Though the approach had gone flawlessly, upon entering the church two Allied corporals received a bursts of machinegun fire before killing the another Axis soldier. Thrown into bloodlust after watching the men under his command get cut down by the Allies, Heiko Alkema made a futile attempt to charge the enemy with his bayonet. Alkema was struck by numerous rounds before finally falling unconscious from massive bloodloss. Merhoff made an attempt to save his men in the church but was wounded by a barely standing Bevan ending his rescue before it had ever begun. A few more shots were exchanged between the remnants of both sides before the last Axis men in the church surrendered after realizing that there was no hope of victory. Merhoff and company were disarmed officially ending the skirmish. Category:Hostile Threads Category:Epic Battles Category:Allied Victories